Matilda (name)

Matilda, also spelled Mathilda, is the English form of the Germanic female name Mahthildis, which derives from the Old High German "maht" (meaning "might, strength") and "hild" (meaning "battle").

The name is currently popular in Scandinavian countries. Mathilde appeared among the top 10 most popular names for girls born in Denmark in 2008 and the name was also well-used in Norway, Sweden and Finland. It is also currently rising in popularity in other European countries, including in France, the United Kingdom and in other English-speaking countries.

The name was most popular in the United States between 1880 and 1910, when it was among the top 200 names given to girls. It left the top 1,000 names in the United States by 1964, but reappeared for the first time in 44 years in the top 1,000 names as the 869th most popular name for baby girls born in 2008 in the United States.^[1]

Translations

• Mahthildis (Ancient Germanic)
• Matylda, Tylda (Czech)
• Mathilde, Tilde, Tille (Danish)
• Mechteld (Dutch)
• Mathilda, Matilda, Matti, Mattie, Matty, Maud, Maude, Maudie, Tilda, Tilli, Tillie, Tilly (English)
• Mahault, Mahaud, Mahaut, Maheut (French)
• Mathilde, Mechthild, Mechthildis, Mechtild, Mechtilde, Hilde, Tilde (German)
• Mathilde (Ματθίλδη) (Greek)
• Matilda (מטילדה) (Hebrew)
• Matild (Hungarian)
• Mafalda, Matelda, Matélda, Matilde (Italian)
• Machiruda (マチルダ) (Japanese)
• Matilda, Mathilda, Mathildis (Latin)
• Mǣþhild (Old English)
• Matylda (Polish)
• Matilde (Portuguese)
• Mathilde, Mátilda (Spanish)
• Matilda (Матильда) (Russian)

People

• Empress Matilda or Empress Maud (1102–1167), Lady of the English, Queen of Germany, daughter of Henry I of England, mother of Henry II of England

• Mathilda Berwald (1798–1877) Swedish royal court singer
• Mathilda d'Orozco (1796–1863), composer
• Mathilda Enequist (1833–1898), Swedish opera singer
• Mathilda Foy (1813–1869), Swedish philanthropist
• Mathilda Gelhaar (1813–1889), opera singer
• Mathilda Linsén (1831-1872), Finnish educator
• Mathilda May (born 1965), French film actress
• Matilda of England, Duchess of Saxony (1156–1189), Duchess of Saxony, daughter of Henry II of England
• Matilda of Holstein (1220 or 1225–1288), Danish queen consort
• Matilda of Savoy (1390–1498), Electress palatine
• Mathilda Rotkirch (1813–1842), Finnish painter

• Matilde Camus (1919–2012), Spanish poet
• Matilda Coxe Stevenson (1855–1915, née Evans), American ethnologist and author
• Matilda Etches (1898-1974), British fashion designer
• Matilda Jane Sager (1839–1928), fifth of the Sager orphans
• Matilda Joslyn Gage (1826–1898), 19th century American feminist and freethinker

• Matilda of Boulogne (1104–1152), Queen of England, wife of Stephen of England
• Matilda of Flanders (c. 1031–1083), Queen of England, wife of William I of England
• Matilda of Habsburg (1253–1304), Duchess consort of Bavaria
• Matilda of Ringelheim, (892–968), wife of Henry the Fowler, King of East Francia
• Matilda of Savoy, Queen of Portugal (1125–1158), First Portuguese queen-consort
• Matilda of Scotland (c. 1080–1118), originally named Edith, wife of Henry I of England
• Matilda of Tuscany (1046–1114), Countess of Tuscany (also called Mathilde or Matilde of Canossa)

• Mechtilde of Hackeborn, 1240/41-1298, Saxon Christian saint and nun
• Mechtilde Lichnowsky (1879–1958), German writer born Mechtilde Christiane Marie Gräfin von und zu Arco-Zinneberg
• Mechtildis of Edelstetten or Mechtildis of Edelstetten (died 1160)
• Mechthild of Magdeburg (c. 1207 – c. 1282/1294), Beguine and mystic
• Mechtild of Nassau (before 1280 – 19 June 1323), Duchess consort of Bavaria
• Mechtilde of the Blessed Sacrament (1614–1698), French nun and founder of order
• Mechtild Rothe (born 1947), German politician

• Queen Mathilde of Belgium (born 1973), wife of King Philippe of the Belgians

• Tilda Swinton (born 1960), British actress, model and artist
• Tilda Thamar (1921–1989), Argentine actress

Fictional characters

• Matilda Wormwood, a main character in Roald Dahl's novel Matilda
• Matilda de Villanegas, a fictional character in Matthew Lewis' The Monk.
• Matilda, a fictional character from the anime/manga Strike Witches
• Mathilda, a fictional character at the end of Purgatorio.
• Matilda McDuck, a Disney character who is Scrooge McDuck's sister and Donald Duck's maternal aunt
• Matilda "Mattie" Hunter, a fictional character from the popular Australian soap opera Home and Away, played by Indiana Evans.
• A fictional character in the Gothic novel The Castle of Otranto, daughter of Manfred.
• Matilda Ajan.
• A fictional character representing Protestantism in Heinrich Heine's "The City of Lucca" and "The Baths of Lucca".
• Mathilda Lando, Leon's apprentice and companion in Luc Besson's Léon. Played by Natalie Portman.
• Tilly, French-speaking character in the pre-school children's TV show Tots TV.
• Matilda Ashby, character on the America soap opera The Young and the Restless
• Matilda Román, main antagonist (later friends with Grachi) from the Latin American TV series Grachi. Played by Kimberly Dos Ramos.
• Matilda "Matty" Jenkyns, a charakter from Elizabeth Gaskells novel Cranford who was portrayed by Judi Dench in the TV-Series of the same title.
• Matilda, the hen in the Angry Birds franchise.

Music

• "Waltzing Matilda", Australian folk song.
• "Matilda" is a song by alt-J (∆).
• "Matilda Mother" is a song by Pink Floyd
• Mathilda - a calypso composed by Norman Span (King Radio), which in 1953 become famous worldwide from the version by Harry Belafonte.

Film

• Matilda's Legacy, an Australian film starring American actor Oliver Hardy
• Matilda, an American film based on the novel by British author Roald Dahl

References